Wandy Rodriguez, the top Astros pitcher this season, looked into his past and started pointing around the visiting clubhouse at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati for optimism.

“Over there,” he said, pointing at Bud Norris.

“And here and here,” he said, pointing at Felipe Paulino to his right and reliever Alberto Arias to his left. “Look at him, him and him. These kids, who are 24-25, they're our future. Norris, Arias and Paulino, those are good arms for the future.

“They just need to learn to locate and have patience and to study the hitters well.”

Not long ago, Rodriguez, 30, was the equivalent of Paulino, a guy with a great arm and solid repertoire but settling into the majors. Only two seasons ago, some fans were eager for the Astros to give up on Rodriguez, who this year supplanted Roy Oswalt as the team leader in victories and ERA.

“Remember, in 2007 and 2006 I'd lose games in one inning?” Rodriguez said, voice rising to make sure Paulino and Arias heard. “I'd throw five good innings and lose it in one. But I learned to concentrate. You just have to learn it.

“People can tell you how to do it, but ultimately you have to learn it. These guys have great arms, and they'll learn.”

As the Astros play out the final games of the 2009 season, general manager Ed Wade and his front office are planning for 2010. Manager Cecil Cooper has a mandate to watch rookies Chris Johnson and Tommy Manzella, who could man the left side of the infield opening day.

Sure, the Astros want to win down the stretch, but the priority is to see Norris, Paulino, Johnson and Manzella. Arias remains on the disabled list after having a setback Wednesday, but he pitched well in relief and is in a strong position for a bullpen spot next season.

Big league experience

“We want to win as many games as we can,” Wade said. “We want to finish on a high note, but at the same time try to take advantage of the opportunity to see Bud Norris and Paulino, (Yorman) Bazardo and some of the young position players, not to make definitive judgments on them but give them opportunities to get their feet wet and sort of experience what being in the big leagues is all about.”

The Astros have one of the oldest rosters in baseball, and those old muscles landed the club's players on the disabled more than most teams.

Moreover, two of the top three stars had subpar seasons, with Oswalt going a career-worst 8-6 with a 4.12 ERA and first baseman Lance Berkman hitting .275 with 72 RBIs while playing only 120 of the club's 146 games.

Barring a surprise willingness to waive their no-trade clauses, team home run, RBI and batting average leader left fielder Carlos Lee, Berkman and Oswalt will return with their hefty salaries. The Astros haven't ruled out re-signing closer Jose Valverde or shortstop Miguel Tejada, who is willing to move to third next season.

“We're going to be younger,” Wade said. “It's going to be necessitated by the economics.

“We're going to have to give every opportunity to the young players in our system to compete for jobs at the big league level, to win jobs out of spring training and begin to transition into a younger club.”

So does that mean Wade can envision Johnson at third and Manzella at short to give the team rookies on the left side of the infield?

Keep veterans in mind

“Yeah, but that said we still have interest in exploring the possibility of bringing the veterans as well,” Wade said. “You start talking about what Miguel and (Geoff) Blum have done for us, I don't think we can overstate the importance of their roles. We can't overstate what they've brought to our ballclub both off and on the field from the standpoint of talent, attitude, makeup, leadership, but again we're going to have to sit down when the season is over and continue to put pen to paper and see what's realistic and what isn't.”

But before the roster is set, the Astros likely will decide whether they want to fire manager Cecil Cooper, as many in baseball predict, and/or any of the coaches.

“I think we're always evaluated,” Wade said. “As I've told you before, I don't get into those types of daily discourses on staff, whether it's front office or field staff. But we're always, all of us, are always in a position of having our successes and failures evaluated every day, both internally and externally.”

But pitching will be the key. If Oswalt can bounce back from the degenerative disk, he, Rodriguez, Norris and Brian Moehler could be the starters.

“It's hard to prognosticate for next year when you don't know what your personnel situation is going to be like,” Berkman said. “You don't know who's coming back or who's not. I think until you know from a personnel standpoint it's hard to say this is what's going to happen. The one thing I do like about our team next year is the fact that I think we're going to have Roy and Wandy and Bud and then Moehler.

“So I think we have four pretty solid starters that give you a chance to win, and that's where you have to start. That's the whole foundation of the team.”